Identification documents (hereafter, “ID documents”) play a critical role in today's society. One example of an ID document is an identification card (“ID card”). ID documents are used on a daily basis—to prove identity, to verify age, to access a secure area, to evidence driving privileges, to cash a check, and so on. In addition, because we live in an ever-evolving cashless society, ID documents are used to make payments, access an automated teller machine (ATM), debit an account, or make a payment, etc.
For the purposes of this disclosure, ID documents are broadly defined herein, and include, e.g., credit cards, bank cards, phone cards, passports, driver's licenses, network access cards, employee badges, debit cards, security cards, visas, immigration documentation, national ID cards, citizenship cards, social security cards, security badges, certificates, identification cards or documents, voter registration cards, police ID cards, border crossing cards, legal instruments, security clearance badges and cards, gun permits, gift certificates or cards, membership cards or badges, etc., etc. Also, the terms “document”, “card”, “badge”, and “documentation” are used interchangeably throughout this patent application.
Many types of identification cards and documents, such as driving licenses, national or government identification cards, bank cards, credit cards, controlled access cards and smart cards, carry certain items of information which relate to the identity of the bearer. Examples of such information include name, address, birth date, signature and photographic image; the cards or documents may in addition carry other variable data (i.e., data specific to a particular card or document, for example an employee number) and fixed data (i.e., data common to a large number of cards, for example the name of an employer). U.S. Pat. No. 7,383,999, entitled “ID Document Structure with Pattern Coating Providing Variable Security Features”, discloses variable security features on ID documents and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. All of the cards described above will be generically referred to as “ID documents”.
The term “smart card” as used herein is defined broadly to generally include a device that carries information. The definition of a smart card used in this application is broad enough to include so-called radio frequency identification cards or RFID cards. A smart card typically includes a microprocessor (or electronic processing circuitry) and/or memory circuitry embedded therein. The electronic circuitry is often packaged as a module. A memory smart card stores information in electronic memory circuits, while a processor smart card can manipulate information stored in associated memory. A smart card module can contain one or both of a processing circuitry and a memory circuitry. Some smart cards are passive in that they lack an internal power source. Power can be supplied through an interface which energizes the smart card's internal circuits. Some other smart cards can include an internal power source. U.S. Pat. No. 7,823,792, entitled “Contact Smart Cards Having a Document Core, Contactless Smart Cards Including Multi-layered Structure, PET-based Identification Document, and Methods of Making Same”, and its continuation application (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/917,186, filed on Nov. 1, 2010) disclose structures of contact smart cards and contactless smart cards. Both the foregoing patent and patent application, respectively, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Smart cards are capable of performing a variety of functions, including but not limited to carrying data, manipulation or processing information and data, controlling access (e.g., by carrying pass codes, biometric data, passwords, etc.), providing identifying information, holding biometric data, etc.
Commercial systems for issuing ID documents are of two main types, namely so-called central issue (“CI”) and so-called on-the-spot or over-the-counter (“OTC”) issue. Central Issue type ID documents are not immediately provided to the bearer, but are later issued to the bearer after having been manufactured at a central location. For example, in one type of CI environment, a bearer reports to a document station where data is collected, the data is then forwarded to a central location where the card is produced, and the card is then forwarded to the bearer, often by mail. Another illustrative example of a CI assembling process occurs in a setting in which a driver passes a driving test, but then receives her license in the mail from a CI facility a short time later. Still another illustrative example of a CI assembling process occurs in a setting in which a driver renews her license by mail or over the Internet, then receives a drivers license through the mail.
A CI assembling process can be more of a bulk process facility, in which many cards are produced in a centralized facility, one after another. The CI facility can, for example, process thousands of cards in a continuous manner. Because the processing occurs in bulk, CI can have an increase in efficiency as compared to some OTC processes, especially those OTC processes that run intermittently. Thus, CI processes can sometimes have a lower cost per ID document if a large volume of ID documents are manufactured.
In contrast to CI ID documents, OTC ID documents are issued immediately to a bearer who is present at a document-issuing station. An OTC assembling process provides an ID document “on-the-spot”. An illustrative example of an OTC assembling process is a Department of Motor Vehicles setting where a driver's license is issued to a person, on the spot, after a successful exam. In some instances, the very nature of the OTC assembling process results in small, sometimes compact, printing and card assemblers for printing the ID documents.
ID documents are often made to be in compliance with certain international and/or national standards. Examples of these standards include ISO 7810 on physical characteristics of ID cards, ISO 10373 on test methods of ID cards, ANSI/NCITS 322 on card durability test methods, ISO 7816 on smart cards, ISO 14443 on contactless smart cards, etc.
Different units may be used throughout this patent application to define caliper (i.e., depth) of various layers of an ID document. For example, 1 mil is 1/1000 inch, about 0.0254 millimeters.
Some desired features of ID documents include, e.g., durability, resistance to physical and/or heat intrusion, solvent attach resistance, tamper evidence and low cost to produce and assemble.